The Magic of Flying
by khaleesiweasley
Summary: When James Potter was four years old, he received his first toy broomstick. When he was eleven, he attempted to impress a redheaded girl with his flying skills. When he was fifteen, he took to his broom to make an important choice. When he was seventeen, it was on his broom where he fully realized he made the right decision. One-shot.


When James Potter was gifted his first toy broomstick at four years old, most of the other magical boys his age had already been flying on broomsticks for at least two years. His mother was hesitant to buy him one for so long because when she was younger, her favorite uncle ran his broomstick right into the side of a building and died. Granted, he had been drunk out of his mind at the time, but that didn't diminish her fear of her young son meeting the same fate. However, after much insistence from her husband about the necessity of a broomstick in order to have a proper childhood, James received the toy for his birthday that year. After all, who was she to deny her son of a _proper_ childhood?

He didn't let go of it for a solid week. Upon waking, he would run to the backyard and ride on it for hours under the watchful eye of his mother or a house elf, hovering only a few feet from the ground. When his mother insisted that he stop riding for the day, he dragged it along inside with him. It sat in the seat next to him during dinner. It joined him in the tub during bath time as the house elves scrubbed his windswept hair. It was tucked in right next to him when it was time to sleep. "Don't take it away!" James had begged every night, and because she could deny her son nothing, she let him fall asleep clutching his prized possession.

"It's not normal!" she insisted to her husband, after the eighth night of tucking in the broomstick along with her son. "There must be something we can do, he's far too attached."

"Euphemia," Mr. Potter sighed, setting down his issue of the Evening Prophet to watch his wife prepare for bed. "This is completely normal behavior for a small wizard. Just be grateful that he has a healthy interest in something so _normal_."

Mrs. Potter climbed into bed. Her husband being no help, she decided to take matters into her own hands and devised a scheme to get her young son to stop sleeping with a cleaning tool. And sure enough, when she gifted her son with a pet owl a few days later ('a delayed birthday gift,' she had claimed as her husband shook his head at her), he finally stopped carrying his broomstick everywhere and became enthralled with his new pet. However, this did nothing to distract his interest in flying, and James still spent hours on his broomstick, much to the annoyance of his mother.

* * *

By the age of ten, James could fly better than anyone his age. He could do loops and twirls and tricks. He had even joined a Quidditch team for young boys at one point but soon was asked to leave because James was constantly showing off his skills, which far outpaced those of his teammates. So instead, he would just fly around on his family's grounds, throwing a ball as hard as he could then rushing to catch it. He always caught it. For the past year, he had been begging his parents for a better broom in order to fly at a higher altitude. The one he had now only levitated him a couple of yards from the ground. Ignoring his wife's disapproval, Mr. Potter went out to buy a Cleensweep Seven, the latest broom of that model. On the day that James received his Hogwarts letter, he also received a giant gift box.

"It's so you can make the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Mr. Potter had winked down at his son as he exclaimed over his new broom. James swore that it was the best day of his life and immediately ran outside to try it out, Hogwarts letter practically forgotten.

* * *

Flying lessons at Hogwarts were always a humorous affair. Madame Hooch could always tell which children were raised by Muggles because of how they always look at their brooms in disbelief, almost as if she were trying to play a trick on them. She tried to give them extra attention when those raised in wizarding households weren't causing trouble.

"I bet I'm going to fly faster than you are!" James challenged his new friend. He clutched the school's Comet 180 that he had been assigned to use, eagerly waiting for Madame Hooch to allow them to take off. She was currently occupied with a pair of Muggleborn girls a couple of people away.

"As if!" Sirius scoffed. "I've been flying since I was born!"

James was about to retort when he heard a loud yelp and the sound of laughter. It was that girl from the train. She was hovering off the ground only a couple of feet, her face mixed with fear and excitement. The Snape boy stood next to her, giving her words of encouragement.

Suddenly it became very important for James to fly at that very moment. Sticking his tongue out at Sirius, James mounted his broom and immediately shot to the sky. He did loops and dives as his classmates below him pointed and cheered, until Madame Hooch yelled that he needed to come down here right _this instant_. As she shouted at him about the dangers of flying on school grounds without proper instruction (Y_ou could have flown right into the Whomping Willow, silly boy!_), he chanced a glance over to the girl with the pretty red hair. She was shaking her head in disapproval but had a slight smile on her face. That made the detention he received completely worth it.

* * *

First years weren't allowed on the Quidditch team; everyone knew that. That didn't stop James from showing up to the try-outs and making it to the final round before the captain finally realized that he was a first year and asked him to try again next year.

"Bad luck, mate," Sirius shrugged as James retold what happened. "You must be really good if they didn't notice until the last round. Just try again next year, you'll be a shoo-in for sure."

The next year when he tried out again, the captain, still hesitant to add someone so young to the team, made him the reserve Chaser. James was so disappointed that he purposefully sought out Snape just to turn his clothes bright pink.

His third year, Mrs. Potter finally received the dreaded letter from her son informing her that he had made the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

* * *

"How about a kiss for good luck today, Evans?" James grinned at Lily across the Gryffindor table.

"If you need me to kiss you in order to win, Potter, then that explains why we lost to Ravenclaw last month 210 to 90," Lily replied, not even looking up from her cereal.

"That wasn't my fault!" James immediately defended himself. "If Prott had caught the snitch like he was supposed to, we would have won in a sitch! I scored over half the goals myself!" Lily didn't even glance up in response. Slightly annoyed, James turned away and resumed his breakfast. His friends looked at him sympathetically, more than used to James' desire for Lily's attention. For some reason, it bothered him whenever Lily wasn't as impressed with his Quidditch skills as others usually were. In the year since he officially joined the Quidditch team, she had never once complimented him on his game. An idea suddenly occurred to him.

"How about this," James began, moving her cereal bowl away to grab her attention. "What if we win today's game? Then will you kiss me?"

Lily finally looked up, snatching back her bowl with a scowl. "Potter, I wouldn't kiss you even if you single-handedly won the national tournament. Besides, you don't even like me, something you've made perfectly clear for the past four years. Now leave me alone and go find someone else to annoy."

James rose from the table, glaring at her as she resumed eating her cereal, and made his way to the Quidditch pitch. Grabbing his broom, he flew as high up as he could and did not come back down until he saw the stadium filling up for the day's match. After the game concluded as James' worst one yet due to his mental distractions, he decided that she was right. He didn't even like her, so he shouldn't even bother.

* * *

Flying became his escape. He would fly when Sirius was being annoying, or when Snape would make a particularly rude comment about him. Mostly, though, he flew because of Lily.

After that horrible day at the end of their fifth year, James had ignored the comments of his friends insisting that it wasn't as bad as it had seemed and had gone straight to the Quidditch pitch. Once on his broom, he could properly think.

Had Lily been justified in his hatred of him all this time? He was always so sure that she was being completely unfair in her dislike of him. He _supposed_ that some of the people he hexed hadn't really deserved it and yes, he _might_ have looked a bit like a prat always playing around with that snitch, and it was _possible_ that those times he switched up her potion ingredients weren't exactly funny. But he couldn't help it. Anytime he saw those pretty, green eyes or shiny, red hair he would lose all of his sensibility.

Tired of just hovering, he did a few loops before coming to a stop again. He must be a really terrible person then, for someone as sweet and funny and beautiful as Lily to hate him so. He would have to be better. Better than the Giant Squid, at least. If he wanted a chance to even be her friend, he would have to change. Friendship. That would be the goal. He would change so that Lily could stand being in the same room as him for more than five seconds.

Satisfied, he finally flew down, attempting to tame his windswept hair for once.

* * *

When his Hogwarts letter informed him that he was chosen to be the new Gryffindor Quidditch captain the summer before his sixth year, he took off on his broom and didn't come down for several hours. It was his best accomplishment yet.

* * *

James and Sirius had a friendship like no other. Both equally invested in mischief, they were constantly terrorizing the students of Hogwarts with their schemes. Although they eventually extended their friendship to include Remus and Peter, what James had with Sirius was special. After eleven years of being an only child he finally had a brother, which was made even more official when Sirius moved in with him over the summer.

Which is why James was felt so personally betrayed after what Sirius had done. To expose Remus like that was unimaginable, and now Snape knew his secret. For as much as he tried, James could not comprehend why Sirius had led Snape to the Shrieking Shack. All he could think about was how relieved he had been when he pulled Snape back in time and how shocked he had felt when Dumbledore informed him that Snape had agreed to keep Remus' secret.

James set his broom down and sat on the grass. He had come out to the Quidditch pitch fully intending to chuck some Quaffles but found that he was reminded of too many summers playing friendly matches against Sirius. Instead, he laid back and looked at the sky.

"I thought I'd find you out here," a voice interrupted his thoughts. His hand immediately twitched, itching to reach for his hair. Instead, he sat up and watched as the figure drew closer until she was towering over him.

"Yeah, well, figured I had some spare time so might as well get some practice in," James shrugged, struggling to keep his heartbeat steady as the girl sat next to him, stretching out her legs.

"James Potter, admitting he needs to practice?" Lily questioned, looking amused. "Now there's something I'd never thought I'd hear."

"What's your excuse?" James challenged. "At least I have a reason to be out here."

"I do have a reason," she shot back. When he raised his eyebrows at her, she gave a slight shrug. "It's a nice day out."

He couldn't deny her that. It was a lovely spring day, the kind where one just couldn't resist coming outside to breathe in the warm air.

"Listen, James," she began as he resisted the urge to grin at the use of his first name. She tugged at the grass as she formed her thoughts. "I'm not exactly sure what's going on between you and Sirius, but you should know that he's completely miserable without you."

"Good," he snorted. "The git deserves it."

Lily shook her head. "You can't honestly want someone you care about so much to feel so terribly, do you?"

James didn't respond. He didn't even want to think about Sirius right now, let alone discuss his betrayal with the pretty girl next to him. Not when the sun made her hair shine a brilliant red and her long legs were beautifully exposed in a skirt.

"I know you probably are thinking that there's no way I can begin to understand what's happening between you and Sirius," she continued, unaware that this was definitely not what he had been thinking, "but as an outsider, I have to say how miserable the both of you look. Sirius has even begun spending time with me, something I can't say I completely appreciate." She shook her head in disapproval but had an affectionate smile on her face that told James she didn't mind Sirius' company as much as she made it seem. "At some point, you have to ask yourself if whatever he did is truly unforgivable." She brought her knees up, looking thoughtful. "And then, whatever you decide, you have to act on it. You can't stay in this limbo forever. You can't scowl every time his name comes up. If you cannot forgive him, truly, then you have to be mature and move on. And if you can forgive him, then you have to _actually_ forgive him. In these times that we live in, we can't afford to waste a single second away from the people we care about."

James was silent as he processed what she had said. He briefly wondered who were the people Lily cared about and if he would be among them. She said nothing, wrapping her arms around her legs as she waited. However, instead of giving her the response she probably expected, he jumped up, grabbing his broom.

"I'm going up," he announced. "I think better when I'm in the sky."

She nodded, getting up and dusting herself off. "Well, good luck up there, Potter." She gave him a small smile before turning around and heading back to the castle.

"Lily!" he called out, already in the sky.

She turned and looked up, shielding the sun from her eyes.

"Thanks," he said, grinning. She beamed back at him and turned around again. Yes, James decided, doing a loop. This friendship thing was definitely worth it.

* * *

"James, you know I hate flying!" Lily shrieked as James rocketed toward the sky. He looked back at her in amusement, meeting her frightened eyes. Never in a million years did he think that Lily would accept when he offered to take her out for a spin. Even now, as she clutched the front of his robes, he still wasn't sure why she had accepted. Over the past year, they had been slowly developing a steady friendship. Now whenever he would crack a joke, she would laugh and roll her eyes, instead of simply rolling her eyes as she used to do. He tutored her in Transfiguration; she tutored him in Potions. They ate meals together, with Lily occasionally joining the Mauraders during supper. Now that she didn't hate James, she got along swimmingly with the others, especially after her hand in repairing the friendship between James and Sirius. Being Heads together this year had helped exponentially, forcing them to spend many evenings alone in front of the fireplace working on patrol schedules. Overall, he was very much enjoying their friendship, although every time she smiled at him or complimented him on some assignment, his heart would never fail to thump.

"If you hate flying so much, why did you come out with me tonight?" James asked, bringing them to a stop and looking back at her.

"It's just so nice out and I'm afraid it's the last nice day before winter," she replied, trying to avoid looking at the ground. He held in a snort. The last warm day of the year happened weeks ago. He was the only person mad enough to fly in the chilly fall air. Or so he thought.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Besides, I fancied a break from all that studying."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, swinging his legs around so that he was completely facing her. "Figured you'd take a nice broom ride to help you relax?" He smirked at her tense form.

"I just thought I would try something new," she huffed. "Clearly, I can see that I have wasted my time. Take me down, please."

"Hey," he said softly, tilting her chin up so that she would no longer be looking at how high up they were. "I really appreciate you accompanying me. And you don't have to be afraid, you know I've got you, yeah? I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

She was silent for a long time, looking straight into his eyes. Even now, after so many years of knowing her, his breath still caught as he realized how dazzling she looked with the wind whipping her hair and a certain sparkle in her eyes. It was moments like these when James was reminded that he would never truly be over her. While friendship was nice, he was constantly wondering how her hand would feel in his, how it would feel to peck her on the forehead. And so when, much to his surprise, she started leaning toward him, he instinctually leaned as well before his brain caught up with the situation.

"Um, Lily," he whispered, his mouth mere centimeters from hers, "What's happening?"

"James," she breathed, her eyelids fluttering as if his proximity was affecting her. "I-" She licked her lips. "I think I want to kiss you. I think I've wanted to kiss you for a while now."

"Oh," was all he managed to say. He couldn't process what she was saying. She had wanted to kiss him for a while now? He had wanted to kiss her for years!

"I know things started out a bit rough," she continued, her eyes never moving from his lips, "but you've changed. I've seen that. I appreciate that. And after spending so much time together this year, I've realized that I - oh bugger it."

She leaned in until her lips were touching his. And if he wasn't such a skilled flyer he would have lost his grip on the broom, sending them both plummeting to the ground. But instead, he kept a firm grip on the broom with one hand and with the other reached into her soft hair to hold her closer. And it was even more satisfying than he imagined it would be, more satisfying than winning the House Cup and mastering the Patronus Charm and eating treacle tart. Combined. And when James came home for the winter holidays and recounted the tale, Mrs. Potter was so happy that her son was finally with the woman he loved. But a small part of her couldn't help from mourning the loss of her little boy and silently cursing the day she bought him that toy broom.

* * *

_My first Jily fic! Sometime in the past few years, Jily has become my ultimate favorite pairing and I decided to give this a shot. Let me know how I did! This is actually my favorite piece I have ever written!_


End file.
